Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince for Xbox 360 Reviews by Gamers

THe first obvious thing I'll say is that this is a game designed for kids. Yet as such, it wasn't that bad, and it doesn't feel as idiot-proof as other kids games. Perhaps this is due to the darker nature of the story, and the fact that the characters by this time are starting to come into their own. But either way, I didn't feel like I'd been completely robbed of my time after I finished.

However, the game difficulty is defintely geared toward the younger or more casual crowd (girls ;P), as this is a pretty easy game. It is also relatively short, maybe around 7 hours give or take to finish the single player. And as for multiplayer, well, there is a multiplayer, but it's only local (not Xbox Live) and only has one mode, one-on-one dueling. Definitely room for improvement there.

Otherwise, the game plays as a bit of a sandbox game (not quite Fallout 3, but there's definitely some nonlinear aspects to this game) and heavily relies on the use of three minigames: potion making, dueling and quidditch. So you can spend time exploring an area, improving your score in the minigames, or you can stick poignantly to the storyline. In this sense, the game will feel very familiar to anyone who played "Order of the Phoenix," which broke new ground by letting the player explore all of Hogwart's at their leisure. HPB gives you the same access, but it's hard to feel the same awe exploring the same building.

THe graphics are generally well-above average, though still suffer from time to time. The cut-scenes are well done and the developers have made sure you take the time to appreciate them because there's no way to skip them.

Any serious gamer will know what to expect coming into a game like this, and by those standards this is pretty darn good effort, aside from a few issues. However, if you're a Potter fan or looking for a game to rent for the kids, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.